The present invention relates, generally, to the field of pre-crash sensing systems for automotive vehicles and, more specifically, to automotive pre-crash sensing methods and apparatuses having countermeasure attributes associated therewith.
Auto manufacturers are investigating radar, lidar, and vision-based pre-crash sensing systems to improve occupant safety. Current vehicles typically employ accelerometers that measure decelerations acting on the vehicle body in the event of a crash. In response to the accelerometer measurements, braking, acceleration and other countermeasure systems are employed.
In certain crash situations, it would be desirable to provide information about potential collisions before forces actually act upon the vehicle in order to manipulate the operation of the vehicle and thus, reduce the impact of a collision. One example where such a system would be beneficial is a situation involving a frontal and rear impact situation occurring at relatively the same incident.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,507 for an amusement park ride attraction discloses a vehicle bumper system which utilizes front and rear sensors to allow a vehicle to accelerate or decelerate to simulate either a frontal or rear collision. A vehicle braking system and an acceleration system are controlled by a programmable controller for actuating the braking and accelerator systems in response to a simulated frontal or rear collision occurring in order to simulate the effects of a physical impact for amusement purposes.
While U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,507 is suitable for its intended purpose for amusement park rides, it does not address mitigating the combined magnitude of potential dual collision events. It would be desirable to provide a system that takes into consideration the combined magnitude of the collision events in a dual pre-crash situation in order to deploy associated countermeasure attributes for mitigating the effects of multiple collisions.